Fire-extinguisher.



W. E. PUTNAM, JR.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 22, 1912.

1 98,837 Patented June 2, 1914.

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WILLIAM E; FU'TNAM, UB4, 05 BBOQKLINE; MASSACHUSETTS.

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' Specification of'Ltters Patent:

Application filed July 22,1912. Serialilt'o. 710,831.

l ire Extinguishers, of which the 7 following is a specification.

' Thislinventionrelates to fire extinguishers of'the sprinkler type adapted to be installed 1I1=b11ilCliI1gS and automatically to discharge I in the presence of heat.

The object of my invention is to provide a fire extinguisherof novelnand improved construction which makes it possibleto dispense-with the present form of fire extinguisher systems, consisting'of elaborate and costly systems of piping, and sprinkler" heads. Instead of using water, as iscustomary in extinguishing systems permanently installed in buildings, with my, in-

" vention it is possible to use a chemical fire extinguishingfluid thus avoiding the danger of destroying orinjuringthe contents of the buildingbya flood of water, as frequently happens, causing more damagethan the'fire which is extinguished.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate certain embodiments of my invent1on,-Figure 1 is a verticalcentral section showing a fire extinguisher containing my inventionin one form; Fig. 2 is a similar sectional View of a fire extinguisher containingylny invention; in modified forum.

Similar reference characters are employed in all the figures to'indicate corresponding parts. I

a 1 represents a container casing, having an outlet b, normally sealed by a cap a; the containercasirig may be cylindrical in form or of other suitable shape. The casing is adapted, to be secured to the ceiling d, or other suitable support, in a room, by means of fasteners engaging flanges j of the casing, or imany other convenient way. @pposite the outlet 6 is a cup 9 supported by a yoke .h to cause the fire extinguishing fluid when expelled from the casing to spray or sprinkle as in an ordinary fire extinguisher sprinkler head. In Fig. 1 the cap 0 for sealing the outlet is held in place by a well known s rinklerhead device, consisting of two evers isoldered together with a soft, readily fusible metal j, which constitutes a holder fusible in the presence Patented June 2, 1914';

under compression between the slidable partition m and the top wall of the casing. The periphery of the 'slidable partition m is sealed to the walls of the casing by means of a flexible-and collapsible tube n, the upper end of which is secured to the'edge of the partition m, and the lower end of which is sealed at the bottom of the casing a, by being clamped between the cylindrical walls andthe flat bottom wall of the casing a. The pressure holder 3' normally resists the pressure of the spring 8, and when said holder" fuses spring '8 is released to force the slidable partition m downward expelling the extinguishing fluid Z: as already described.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 2 the cy-' lindrical casing a is provided with a partition or plunger m fitted to slide within casing a. In the chamber formed between plunger m and the walls of the casing a is the vfire extinguishing fluid 70. Above the plunger m is a spring .9 held under compression between the plunger m and the top of the casing. In this form the fusible pressure holder is shown as consisting of a wire link or tie '0 connecting the plunger m and the-top of the casing, and normally restraining the pressure of the spring .9. In this form as the pressure holder directly connects the-stationary and chamber containing the extinguishing fluid,

and the cap 0 may be of any suitable material such as a fiber disk sufficient to hold the fire extinguishing fluid lo. under normal conditions, but readily forced out under the influence of spring pressure when released. The upper part of the casing is provided withlargeapertures p, so as tobe freely open to the atmosphere toinsure that of heat, and normally resisting the presi changesof temperature due to a tire in the vicinity of the extinguisher will be immediately felt by the fusible-pressure holder 0. When the holder is fused the pressure of spring 8 is released, forcing the plunger m downward, opening the seal 0 and expelling the fire extinguishing fluid 7c in the manner already described. In an extinguisher according to Fig. 2, a seal of. paratlin, or other suitable material may be poured on the upper side of plunger m to prevent possibility of leakage between the plunger and the walls of the casing until the fusible holder is broken. Such seal would readily give way when the spring actuates the plunger.

With my inventionit will be seen that each fire extinguisher device is a unitary self-contained device, complete in itself; that such units may be installed in a build ing in whatever numbers, or at whatever places desired, to afford full protection in all parts of the building without necessitating the employment of elaboratesystems of piping such as are used in water sprinkler systems now in vogue. Furthermore, danger of water damage to the contents of the building is wholly eliminated by the use of the fire extinguishing chemical fluid, instead of water, and by the use of such fluid in quantities so small that there is no possibility of flooding the building while the quantity of the fluid although insufficient to flood the building is sufficient, owing to its greater effectiveness as a fire extinguisher, to do the work of a very much larger volume of water.

I claim:

1. A fire extinguisher, comprising a container casing, having a normally sealed outlet, a partition fitted to slide within said container casing, a fire extinguishing fluid within the chamber formed by said partitionand the walls of the casing, a spring within said casing to exert pressure on said slidable partition, a holder fusible in the presence of heat for restraining said spring pressure and adapted when fused to permit said pressure to force said partition inward, open said sealed outlet and expel said fluid.

2. A fire extinguisher, comprising a con tainer casing having a normally sealed outlet, a partition fitted to slide within said container casing, a fire extinguishing fluid within the chamber formed by said partition and the walls of the casing, a spring within said casing to exert pressure on said slidable partition, a holder fusible in the presence of heat connecting said slidable partition and the walls of said casing to restrain said spring pressure and adapted when fused to release said spring and permit the same to force said partition inward, open said sealed outlet and expel said fluid.

3. A fire extinguisher, comprising a container casing having a normally sealed outlet, a partition fitted to slide within said container casing, dividing the easing into two chambers, one chamber being closed and containing a fire extinguishing fluid, and the other chamber being open to the atmosphere, a spring in said open chamber exerting pressure on said slidable partition, and a holder fusible in the presence of heat within said open chamber for restraining said spring and adapted when fused to permit said spring to force said partition inward, open said sealed outlet and expel said fluid.

4:. A fire extinguisher, comprising a container casing having a normally sealed outlet, a plunger fitted to slide within said container casing forming with the walls of said casing a closed chamber, a spring tov operate said plunger, and a holder connected to and supporting said plunger, fusible-- in the presence of heat and accessible to the atmosphere, adapted normally to hold said -s rin' in o erative condition and when fused to permit said spring to force said plunger inward, open said sealed outlet and expel said fluid.

5: A fire extinguisher comprising a receptacle having an extinguisher outlet passage, a sealing means for said passage, a plunger movablein said receptacle, a fusible element, and spring means for actuating said plunger normally held in restraint but releasable upon fusion of said element whereby a pressure is created by the action of said plunger upon the extinguisher chemical to forcibly render said sealing means inoperative.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts,

this eighteenth day of July 1912.

' WILLIAM E. PUTNAM, JR. Witnesses Ronnnr CUSHMAN, CHARLES D. Woonnnnnr. 

